Short Summary

Australian surfboard riders dominated the world's richest professional surfing contest held at Sydney's North Narrabeen Beach from May 9 to 17.

Description

Australian surfboard riders dominated the world's richest professional surfing contest held at Sydney's North Narrabeen Beach from May 9 to 17. The "Surfabout" competition offered prize money of about GBP 9,000 sterling (16,000 U.S. dollars).
At the end of the final heats on Monday (17 May), Australian Mark Richards had scored 5886 points, well ahead of his nearest rival, fellow Australian W. Bartholemew with 5678 points. In third place was P. Townedn, another Australian.
The highest paled overseas competitor was Reno Abellira of Hawaii in fourth place. Of the ten first places, eight were Australian and two were from Hawaii, birthplace of the sport. The Australian national champion, Terry Fitzgerald competed but finished well down the field.
Throughout the final round of the competition, the surf was unpredictable and difficult to handle. Waves tended to crown unexpectedly and most of the surfers were unable to maintain any consistent riding.
The southern hemisphere surfing season is drawing to a close and the top Australian professionals plan to compete in northern hemisphere competitions this summer.
Australian surfboard riders dominated the world's richest professional surfing competition which ended in Sydney on Sunday. They were competing for prize money of about 9,000 pounds sterling.
The Australian national champion, Terry Fitzgerald, competed but made no impact. He didn't even finish in the first ten. Throughout the final round the surf was unpredictable and difficult to handle. Waves tended to crown unexpectedly and few of the surfers were able to maintain any consistent riding.
Australian Mark Richards, the World Professional Champion, easily won the event, finishing well ahead of the rest of the field. Despite the unpredictable waves, Richards rarely lost control.
Of the first ten place-getter, eight were australian and two were from Hawaii, birthplace of the sport. Here, Hawaiian Reno Abellira sows the skill which won him fourth position. He was the highest placed foreign competitor.